Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks take off: Looks like a strong rebound after several down days. Dow is up almost 200 points in early trading.

Companies add jobs: Small businesses helped propel payrolls in November, says ADP, with a gain of 93,000 jobs, the most in three years. But another report shows a big jump in layoffs last month, much of it coming from the government. National employment report comes out Friday. (Bloomberg)

Socal economy slowly improving: Cal State Fullerton's index showed a 0.19 percent increase for July-September, a slower gain than in the first two quarters of the year. But the indicator suggests that growth will continue over the next three to six months. (OC Register)

Any hope of extending unemployment benefits?: Not so far - Democrats want a one-year extension, but Republicans insist that any extension be offset with savings elsewhere in the budget. From Bloomberg:

"I find it difficult to understand how some of my colleagues on the other side would object to an extension of unemployment benefits for a year that are not offset, but at the same time insist that we provide tax cuts for the very richest Americans without paying for them," Senator Jack Reed, a Democrat from Rhode Island, said yesterday. He was referring to the impasse over extending tax cuts scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

Factory output keeps growing: But the pace of growth slowed in November, as measured by the widely followed Institute for Supply Management index. The index fell slightly, though not as much as analysts had expected. (AP)

Magic wants NFL team in L.A.: The former Lakers superstar tells Jimmy Kimmel that he is joining up with AEG to bring an existing club to Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the Chargers are denying rumors that team owner Alex Spanos is ready to sell a 35 percent stake to AEG owner Phil Anschutz. AEG wants to build a stadium next to Staples. (Neon Tommy)

Ski resorts clean up: Mountain High drew more than 25,000 visitors over the Thanksgiving holiday, 10 percent more than a year earlier. Other ski resorts are also reporting big numbers. (LAT)

American Funds adds products: The L.A.-based mutual fund giant is launching three new funds, even as it suffers outflows from its existing portfolio. From the LAT:

Since the market crash of 2008, the company's specialty -- long-term investing in shares of big-name multinational firms that American believes are bargains -- has become the least-popular mutual fund strategy with individual investors, according to research firm Morningstar Inc. in Chicago. American Funds' stock focus is "the worst place possible in terms of investor sentiment now," said Kevin McDevitt, who tracks the company for Morningstar.

Icahn extends offer for Lions Gate: The billionaire investor now plans to buy outstanding shares of the movie company on Dec. 10. Meanwhile, he's waiting for a court ruling that would make it easier for him to win a key board vote. (LAT)